The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation
The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation is an instrument endowed with budgets from the State Secretary for International Cooperation (SECI). Its extensive work experience and the wide network of interconnections that it has built up over the years have enabled it to bring together the work of other funding bodies, achieving a multiplier effect that has meant that the impact of the programmes has gone far beyond the initial 800 million in donations. Until December 2021, the programmes created accounted for a total value of more than 1,600 million euros. To this, the Delegated Cooperation funds entrusted to Spain by the European Union and the interventions leveraged by these must be added, in addition to the reimbursable cooperation operations of FONPRODE and funds from the AECID.
The combination of all these water and sanitation initiatives established around the FCAS is referred to as The Great Fund and allows the original Water Fund’s impact to be multiplied by means of associated instruments, such as technical cooperation, the delegation of EU funds or the coordination of other Spanish Cooperation instruments (reimbursable cooperation, bilateral grants, etc…).
Not only does this suppose a portfolio expansion in economic terms, but it also implies an evolution in the type of actions. It has therefore been possible to set up large-scale operations involving various national and international actors, including contributions from local, regional or national governments, the European Union, financial institutions or cooperation agencies. This maximises their impact, has a truly significant impact on the transformation of the sector, and also simplifies management for the countries involved.
These actions are structured around three main lines of action:
